William Joseph Connors (November 2, 1941 – June 18, 2018) was an American

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

, coach and front office official in

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

. A

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

born in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed in his playing days.

Playing career

When he was 12, Connors was a member of the Schenectady All-Star team that won the 1954 Little League World Series, beating the team from

Colton, California Colton is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Nicknamed "Hub City", Colton is located in the Inland Empire region of the state and is a suburb of San Bernardino, approximately south of the city's downtown. The populatio ...

, 7–5. He graduated from Linton High School in Schenectady in 1959 and attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

for two years. He signed with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

as a pitcher-

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

in 1961. During a season split between the Class B

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

and the Class D Sophomore League, Connors batted only .226 with no

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and 32

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

while hurling 29

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

as a pitcher. In 1962 in the Class D

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, Connors was converted to pitcher-

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

, and improved his batting mark to .296 with two homers and 35 RBI. He also increased his pitching load to 64 innings and posted a 2.64

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. In 1963, back in the Northwest League, he became a full-time pitcher, winning 12 games and notching 138

strike out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

s. During 1966, a season in which he compiled the fourth-lowest ERA in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, Connors was recalled by the Cubs, pitching in 16 innings over 11 games, but he failed to stick with Chicago and was sent back to the PCL for 1967. His contract was purchased by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

in August of that year, and he spent the remainder of his active career with the Mets (27 innings pitched in 1967–1968) and their farm teams. In his 26 Major League

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, Connors worked in 43 innings and posted an 0–2 won/lost mark and an ERA of 7.53.

Coach and front-office executive

Connors' off-field career began in 1971 as the Mets'

batting practice This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See #count, coun ...

pitcher. He then became a minor league pitching instructor for the Mets (1972–76) and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

(1977–79) before embarking on a 17-year career as a pitching coach in Major League Baseball. He served with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

(1980–81), Cubs (1982–86; 1991–93),

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

(1987–88), and three terms with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(1989–90; 1994–95; 2000). His brief term in 2000 came on an interim basis during the medical leave of absence of longtime Yanks' coach

Mel Stottlemyre Melvin Leon Stottlemyre Sr. (November 13, 1941 – January 13, 2019) was an American professional baseball pitcher and Coach (baseball)#Pitching coach, pitching coach. He played for 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, all for the New York Yanke ...

. From 1996 to 2012, as vice president, player personnel, Connors was a member of the Yankees' front office, holding a senior position in the Bombers' player development system and based in the team's

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, minor league headquarters, working alongside

Mark Newman Mark Newman is a British physicist and Anatol Rapoport Distinguished University Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan, as well as an external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute. He is known for his fundamental contributions to ...

, the club's longtime player development boss, and in close proximity to the team's owners, the

George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...

family. He was reassigned by the Yankees in September 2012. Connors died June 18, 2018.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
: {{DEFAULTSORT:Connors, Billy 1941 births 2018 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball coaches from New York (state) Baseball players from Schenectady, New York Carlsbad Potashers players Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs players Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Fort Worth Cats players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Royals coaches Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minor league baseball managers Navegantes del Magallanes players New York Mets players New York Yankees coaches New York Yankees executives Palatka Cubs players Pompano Beach Mets players Salt Lake City Bees players Seattle Mariners coaches Syracuse Orangemen baseball players Tacoma Cubs players Tidewater Tides players Wenatchee Chiefs players